You can run studies with romantic partners on Prolific, but these studies require additional setup compared to standard single-participant studies.
This guide explains how to structure and manage a couples study using Prolific’s recommended approach.
If you are running a non-romantic dyadic study (e.g. manager–employee pairs, friends, negotiation partners, or live matching), see our separate guide on running dyadic studies.
Before you begin
Household restriction
Prolific’s duplicate IP protections limit participation to one participant per study listing per internet connection.
Because some couples may share a connection, you cannot reliably run a couples study within a single study.
To avoid participation issues, we strongly recommend using a multi-study setup (outlined below).
Step 1: Identify your target audience
Prolific includes a prescreener: “Participating together with a romantic partner on Prolific.”
Use it to find participants who report having a partner on Prolific.
To estimate your available sample:
Create a draft study
Go to the Audience section
Apply relevant filters, including this prescreener
You’ll see the number of eligible active participants.
Important:
This prescreener is self-reported and does not guarantee that:
Both partners will participate
Both partners are currently active
Both partners will complete all parts of your study
Plan your sample size accordingly.
Step 2: Use a multi-study structure
To run a couples study reliably on Prolific, we strongly recommend using four separate study listings - one for each partner at each stage.
Study 1 (Partner A - screening and ID collection)
Recruit participants using the couples prescreener
Ask participants to:
Confirm they are willing to take part with their partner
Provide:
Their own Prolific ID
Their partner’s Prolific ID
Study 2 (Partner B - confirmation)
Create a custom allowlist using partner IDs collected in Study 1
Invite Partner B to the study
Ask them to confirm they are willing to participate
Study 3 (Partner A - main study)
Run your main study
Add a custom allowlist containing confirmed Partner A IDs
Study 4 (Partner B - main study)
Run the same main study
Add a custom allowlist containing confirmed Partner B IDs
Payment guidance
Each participant account is independent. You must:
Pay participants for each study they complete
Not reject submissions based solely on their partner’s participation
Not make payment conditional on both partners completing
To support completion across both partners:
You may delay approval for up to 21 days
You may offer clearly stated bonus payments
Explain your payment structure clearly in your study description
If a participant completes Studies 1 or 2 but does not return for the main study:
Approve their submission
Pay them for the work completed
Managing completion and drop-off
Couples studies require coordination between two participants, so you should expect some drop-off.
To manage this:
Recruit more participants than your target number of completed pairs
Clearly explain expectations in your study descriptions
Use allowlists carefully to control who progresses between stages
Need help?
If you’re unsure whether your study design is suitable, or need help setting up your study, contact Support using the icon at the bottom right of this page.